


What is the Price of War

by Sister of Silence (Orcbait)



Category: Warhammer 40.000, Warhammer 40k (Novels) - Various Authors
Genre: Catachan (WH40K), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Imperial Guard (WH40K) - Freeform, Night Terrors, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-09-07 21:18:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8816551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orcbait/pseuds/Sister%20of%20Silence
Summary: Serving in the Imperial Guard is an honourable life choice but one full of perils, many of them unseen until after the war.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kishiriaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kishiriaz/gifts).



> I am a terrible person that writes terrible things, though this time it was Kishiriaz her idea. After all, what is the price of war.

Straken had always been a light sleeper, a propensity honed by decades of front line slumber. The second his breathing was constricted his eyes opened and he was wide awake. Strong but slender fingers closed around his thick neck, one set above the other in an atypical choke hold he knew all too well.

The small hab was dusky. He could only just see Nix’ outline as she straddled his chest, her arms drawing a wedge towards his throat like the tip of a blade. Her breathing was rapid, her pants loud in the quiet darkness. He grabbed her forearms, pushing but not squeezing as he forced them back. Her muscles trembled as she resisted. Inch by inch he drew her hands away from his neck as he sat up. 

They crossed into a beam of dusty light. Her eyes were wide open and full of abject terror. Her lips moved with her accelerated breath, short and shallow, her mouth never quite closing. Sweat beaded on her smooth forehead. Dust flecks sparkled in the light around her like so much shattered glass, falling in slow motion.

He shifted his legs and brought his knees under him to brace himself. He rolled his shoulders and tensed in anticipation. He waited. Any moment now.

A scream of fury welled up from her, shattering the silent night. She yanked a hand free and punched him. His head snapped aside as her knuckles collided with his cheek. The sheer force caused cartilage to shift in his throat that shouldn’t shift. The blow rang in his ears. He heaved, tensing his neck muscles and forcing the painful lump to pop back where it belonged.

Nix pulled herself free and scrambled backwards, kicking her feet under her. He lunged for her and dragged her back by her upper arms, narrowly keeping her from falling off his cot. She shrieked and the dusty light sparkled in her tears of fear. She fought ferociously against his hold, pounding her knuckles against his chest with bruising force. He twisted her sideways, away from his bionic side. She’d break her fingers on the steel. It had happened before. He reached around her waist with his bionic arm, grappling for her wrists and closing his metal fingers around them like shackles, loosely but inseparable. 

He locked her against him and held her head safely pressed steady against his chest with his good hand as her legs kicked uselessly at the empty air beside his cot. His jaw throbbed with dull pain and strain ached in his knees as he held her put while she struggled and screamed and _screamed_.

“Olivia. Olivia, yer OK. Yer safe.” Her screams drowned out his words but he said them anyway. He repeated her name again and again, even though he knew it would be in vain. Where she was she could not hear him. 

No one came storming in to ask what was wrong. They knew. They knew there was nothing any of them could do. There was nothing he could do, except hold her and call her and wait. Wait for the night terror to release her from its iron grip. He counted her rapid heartbeats, willing himself to hold on as his muscles strained with effort to keep her safe.

It stopped as suddenly as it had started. She abruptly stilled, her feet hitting the floor as she slumped in his embrace. He held perfectly still and remained focused on her heartbeat, reassuring himself it was still there. Her breathing evened out. Her expression relaxed, but her eyes remained open and unseeing. She was sleeping still. He reached for her face with his good hand and gently closed her eyes. 

He shifted and his joints snapped in complaint as he gathered her more comfortably against him, crossing his legs. She curled up in his lap, the fabric of his tank top clenched in one fist. He ran his broad fingers through her dishevelled hair. Her warm breath brushed past his skin as she nuzzled his chest in her sleep. He held her and kissed her forehead. Then leaned his cheek against her head, gently rocking as he watched the sunlight creep across the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: A lot of time and hard work went into the creation and publication of this story and as such it is very dear to me. I would love to hear what you thought of it. And please, share this story freely but credit me and link back to me. Thank you!


End file.
